112 



TilE ILLmOIS FAEMEK. 



Apeil 



The Farmers' Future— Prospects of Prices 

 for Farm Products. 



If -we read aright the signf of the times, our 

 agi'ioult-.iia' frieiids are about to enter upon a 

 career of untxampltd prosperity. We believe 

 that for some iiiiie to come, everything the farmer 

 can raise iriil hring good i>r ices. 



In regard to the unhappy secession troubles 

 that are now afflicting our country, "we think that 

 they ■will pass awsy without any serious conflict 

 by arn,s. Still, there will undoubtedly be quite 

 an aring ia the field, both in support of the regu- 

 lar United states government, and also in sup- 

 port oi ihe bogus Confederate States of North 

 /,mer;c;i. All these men, enrolled as soldiers, 

 will have to be fed. Many of ihem will go from 

 the faViu to the aroy — from bting producers they 

 will become consumers. The efi'ect ou pi ices of 

 farm producis tiy these quasi-war movements 

 will be 10 raise them very considerably. 



Bar. tbcre is another rea^=oii why farmers may 

 look f'lr good pnces to be maintaiijod. Congress 

 Las pas^ed a r-ew tariff law, the effect of which 

 will be to stinuibtte manufactures and unlock 

 the wheels of industry at all our furnaces and 

 factories. In this armi/ of laborers that will be 

 engaged in all kinds of manufactures, encourag- 

 ed and protected by the new tariff, the far».^er 

 will fiud a new demand for his fiour, pork and 

 beef. 



"We hope, then, that no farmer will sit down 

 deFpoudii:^-ly. making no efforts for the future. 

 All wi.o arouse ihembolves and make preparations 

 for raisiui: a 'urge crop may depend on realizing 

 excellent prices for al! they can turn off from 

 their farms. — OJdo Vallcg Fanner. 



The above is good advice in the main. Whether 

 peace or war follows, the above arguments hold 

 good. The West must and will feed both the 

 South and the East. Fertility of soil and a ge- 

 nial climate for the cereals give the Northwestern 

 States an advantage that is irrebistible We do 

 not look to a peaceful result to this secession 

 matter — the crash of arms must sooner or later 

 settle the uuestion — it may be staved off for half 

 a dozen ye:ir.s, but it must come sooner or later, 

 and >iS it is not likely in any event that our State 

 will be the field where the quarrel will be tried, 

 hilt to hilt, we must be largely drawn upon for 

 supplies. We siiall hope that better councils will 

 rule, but in the madness of tlie hour it is diffi- 

 calt to foretell the end. Let u?, one and all, at- 

 tend to cur business, keep out of debt, show a 

 spirit of peace, and cultivate the social relations, 

 and we will be comparatively safe from harm. 

 The business and social relations of the border 

 States on both sides of the Ohio is too intimately 

 connected and interwoven to make them hostile, 

 let what may come of the South or the North. It 

 is not our purpose or our province to discuss po- 

 litical qup-t'ois, and as we are no politician we 

 could not if we would ; at ih« same time we have 



no great confidence in the integrity of the parti- 

 san spirit now so rife throughout the newspapers 

 of the day. Judging from most of our exchanges 

 we .should suppose that secession was the one 

 great staple of the country, and .wonder wliy they 

 do not set a tariff upon it. 



Elder Bushes vs. Curculio. 



A few weeks since I visited a garden in this vi- 

 cinity, and saw several plum trees heavily laden 

 with fruit. I was requested to examine and see 

 if I could discover any traces or mari>s of the 

 curculio. I did so upon fruit on ti:ie trees and 

 and ripe fruit that had fallen off andlay upon the 

 ground. I could discover no marks and no lar- 

 vce in the fruit. I gathered up fruit from the 

 ground and carried it home ; it was al! perfect. 

 I thought there must have beengreat pains taken 

 to kill the insects ; but there had beeu none at 

 all. Having raised plums more or leas for twenty 

 years in Michigan, but never without the effects 

 of the curcuio more or less, f'.nd sometimes to 

 the entire destruction of the crop, you may judge 

 of my surprise when informed that all that had 

 been done was to procure common elder bushes 

 and tie them to the branches of the trees. This 

 had been done every few days from ilie time the 

 fruit was fairly set until fi:ll grown. This man 

 has lived upon the place five years. The trees 

 were upon the place — bearing trees — when he 

 took possession; the first two years he tried to 

 save his fruit by shaking the trees andgather.ng 

 up the curculios upon cloths spread uadr them. 

 He had very poor success ; the fruit was nearly 

 all stung and drrpped off' prematurely. He was 

 in despair the second year, when he was told by 

 (as he said) "an old Frenchman" that if ha 

 would put elder bushes iuto his trees he would 

 raise fruit. He has tried it three years with the 

 Same success — a full crop of perfect fruit. — A. C. 

 IIucBARL), ia Michigan Farmer. 



Those having elder bushes at home would do 

 well to give the above a trial, though we confess 

 to s 'me weakness to a belief in its efficiency. We 

 have removed our plum trees within the hen lim- 

 its, that is, that neutral space that lies between 

 the house and the hennery, and hope thus to have 

 good crops of plums. Some cheap and effectual 

 reoaedy must be had against this worst of all fruit 

 depredators. VV'e are tired of nostrums, and 

 want something that can be used by the million, 

 and one that will not cost mere than the fruit is 

 worth when protected. Ed. 



— A rough individual, whose knowledge of 

 classical language was — not complete, had been 

 sick, and on recovering was told by his doctor 

 that he might take a little animal food. "No, 

 fir," paid he, I took your gruel easy enough, bufc 

 hang me if I can g) yoar hay and oats." 



